Bréda, Daughter of Körvic
Chief Bréda (a.k.a. Peacebringer)
Arven Legend and Culture
Bréda was the firstborn child of Körvic, and the first Clan Chief to be born in Veligskör. Her mother, Elma, gave birth to her in the year 280 PC. Much of Bréda's life is chronicled along with that of her father, and though she died young, at just 44 years of age, she was a legendary figure in her own right. If Bréda belonged to a clan upon her birth, it is now unknown. Instead, she was the progenitor of Clan Brédaskin, who would go on to become the monarchical clan ruling over Kör. Bréda is most famous in Arven history for founding the city of Versimhelm, now the capital city of Kör with a population in excess of three million. To this day the great Lighthouse of Bréda, sitting atop Storra's Watch, honours her. Unsurprisingly, she is considered a saint among the Skal, offering peace and safe passage to those travelling by both land and sea. Many sailors travelling out from Versimhelm venture to the lighthouse to kiss the foundation stones before their voyage to receive her blessing. There is also a statue of Bréda carved into the Walls of Skal outside of Nordhelm in Skalbaard. Bréda is also associated with the white gannet and seabirds in general, with many among the Arven believing that Bréda sends the seabirds to guide them home.Early Life
Bréda spent the first eleven years of her life living in Chos. Due to her father's increasing fervour and eventual madness, she was always distant from him and instead spent most of her time with her mother, Elma, and uncle, Bjolk. Supposedly Elma had been the daughter of a shipbuilder, and Bréda took up her interest in sailing and the intricacies of ship design from a young age. She had an adventurous spirit and, having never known the continent her parents grew up on, longed to explore. Strife in the frontier colony of Chos prevented most chance to explore the continent, however, and Bréda was never able to travel more than the few miles across the coastline of the Bay of Körvic on fishinig ships. When Elma died in 269 PC, the people of Chos were on the point of starvation. Bjolk took Bréda away from her father and half brother, and they moved inland to found Elmahorn. Though the region they settled was considerably more fertile and prosperous, Bréda would always miss the vast expanses of the ocean and longed one day to return to it. When Elmahorn made contact with the indigenous Sachonn, Bréda became fascinated with them and spent time among the traders attempting to learn the basics of their language.Settling Versimhelm
in 260 PC, when Bréda was 20 years of age, an organised group of Sachonn attacked and nearly destroyed Elmahorn, but were fended off by Bjolk and his men. For Bréda, this was her first time witnessing real conflict, and though she was a trained archer and fought valiantly to protect her kin, would always regret the violence and the men she killed. Her father took charge of the settlement and placed her half brother, Rolf Körvicson, as its leader, ignoring Bréda's birth right as his firstborn. Many of the survivors from the attack on Elmahorn were equally disillusioned by Körvic's rule, and openly swore allegiance to her. They crossed the river Leis and travelled south-west, attempting to settle along the Venstre. However, the Sachonn locals in the east harried them, raiding and stealing their dwindling supplies. Bréda learned to grown hardened to the violence but always sought a peaceful resolution, and often found shelter in Sachonn villages. Eventually they came to the Venstreheim peninsula, and Bréda was heartened to see the ocean. They established themselves on the cliffs of Storra's watch, as naturally defensible location, and one rich in iron. Their wealth in both fishing and smelting quickly established them as a dominant power in Kör.Personal Life and Death
Versimhelm's wealth not only drew in merchants and travellers among the settlers and indigenous tribes, but word also spread across the ocean in Vordja, and the rapidly growing town became the new destination for colonists travelling from the old continent. One of whom was a man named Tyr Erikson, a disgraced third-son of a chief who had been exiled for refusing to sacrifice his illegitimate daughter to the gods. His daughter had died anyway on the voyage, which also claimed the lives of more than half aboard. Seeing that the longboats they were travelling in were never designed for ocean voyage, Bréda and Tyr co-designed the twin-masted longboat, with a deeper hull and a lower deck for storing ballast, enabling it to better weather ocean storms. In 256 PC Bréda married Tyr and gave birth to a son, Styr Brédaskin. In 254 PC she would also have a daughter, Enya the Holy. In 238 PC, Bréda tasks her restless daughter with seeking new lands to the north. Enya takes a group of devout warriors and founds the nation of Skalbaard, and the city of Nordhelm. The Sachonn laird of Pycha, Cwynn, begins a campaign in 237 PC to drive out the Arven from Kör. Outlying villages in Venstreheim are attacked, as well as those in South Körharven. Bréda has no wish to make war with the laird but cannot sit idly by and watch as her people suffer. Rolf musters his forces and protects his eastern borders as Bréda sends her young son, Styr, north. Styr is captured and held for execution along with the population of the village of Baylfrei. Bréda demands a parlay with the laird and offers herself in place of her son and the village's people. Cwynn demands ritualistic combat between the two leaders, which Bréda accepts, despite being much physically weaker and less adept that the Sachonn leader. Bréda holds her ground but takes a mortal wound to the abdomen. According to legend, the clouds parted during the fight, and a white gannet swooped down and pecked at Cwynn's face. Bréda delivered the killing strike on Cwynn, thus ending the conflict without the need for war. Bréda was brought back to Versimhelm, and despite attempts to save her life, died of infection from her wound. Her son, Styr, erected the first iteration of the Lighthouse of Bréda atop the cliff in her honour.Relationships
Species
Ethnicity
Life
280 PC
236 PC
44 years old
Circumstances of Death
Died from sepsis as the result of a sword wound in her abdomen, 236 PC
Spouses
Tyr Erikson
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Gender
Female
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